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Hello all... so, due to the persistent querying of literally one person, I should just belatedly clarify than an 'official' King of Limbs review never materialised for the reasons stated at the top of the review for a few months now, namely that I hadn't really changed my mind about it after the initial gut reaction thingy and so it seemed a bit unwarranted deleting everybody else's first reactions after they'd taken the trouble to write them. It also saved me some work, I will not lie. I slapped a 7/10 on as the average of people's reactions.

i'd like to do more major albums with multiple reviews and to have a consensus score but I think maybe that can be extended to users submitting short thoughts and scores.
i really want the next version of DiS to be more like 'rotten tomatoes for music' but i need a crapload of funds for web development to really do this properly.

If it were 2-4 tracks longer (at the same quality of the tracks present on the album now) that would be a far more accepted opinion.

People just want a reason to tear Radiohead down, in the exact same fashion employed by those media outlets that attacked Apple during the launch window of the iPhone 4. Perhaps they're a little too celebrated and successful relative to their contemporaries, much like Apple, but let's be real.

In 10 years, regardless of what Radiohead does in that time, TKOL will be seen as another sparkling entry in their discography. I foresee it aging a hell of a lot better than Hail To The Thief, as it should.

That said, 7/10 is a fair judgment and DiS measured their staff's opinion well... knowing that a knee-jerk response to a record as dense as this (especially one lacking immediacy) would be a bad move.

their fans (including me) will buy the albums anyway, not really care what critics think, then decide they hate or like it and whinge to everyone about it.

The review probably best serve describe the album to those previous few who haven't heard much Radiohead or haven't made up mind, and those that like some.

King of Limbs is a lovely little album but hasn't the meat on the bones that maybe In Rainbows had, less to do with length I think, and more to do with songs that seem to be anything but direct, and yet not blowing any minds.

It hasn't maybe matched expectations, and I'd like to say those expectations would be impossible to match, with most bands they would, but with In Rainbows and Kid A under the belt, they've done it before.

I feel I'm over-qualified to discuss the band as, despite my 35,000 track library and broad tastes, they are my favorite musical act and have been for 6 solid years. It's not a fair contest.

In Rainbows was a pop masterpiece. TKOL is more divisive as it's more abstract, a different kind of record. Exploring textures and ideas, playing with syncopation. A bit more rhythmically interesting, just as IR was more melodically focused and HTTT more dynamic in terms of composition. The band weren't looking to make a big statement, and so they didn't. It's just a subtle release.

Those who don't like it are valid in their opinion, but since it's Radiohead many seem to want to rub it in people's noses? I don't know. All I know is, I can't wait for the BBC to broadcast this album From The Basement. :>

I disagree that they aren't setting out to make another bold statement. Sure the album is more subtle than previous releases, but I'm still in the mindset that it's part of the intention to their cause.

I've said this before on here (so apologies for rabbiting on...) but the album seems to work perfectly as a type of meditative album. Instead of painting an image of social ills, here Radiohead are trying to heal them.

The short length, increased use of loops, ambient passages, natural imagery and sounds (birdsong etc.) all help point in this direction. Notice songs never reach grandiose peaks like previous Radiohead albums have (How To Disappear Completely on Kid A etc.) Lines in the final song "If you think this is over then you're wrong" aren't pre-emting a second release, they pre-emt the listener re-playing the album and restarting the hypnotic cycle. The final line "Wake me up" also strengthens this idea.

I said I'm over-qualified because I'm a Radiohead obsessive. It was me saying, I know the ins and outs of this band (unlike you) and so take my opinion for what it is. Biased, but extremely knowledgeable. It was also a bit tongue-in-cheek, so lighten up.

@shrine I agree. Your points make even more sense when taking into account the articles in The Universal Sigh and/or The King Of Limbs newspapers. Kind of a "The Tree of Life" sort of statement. On a side note, really looking forward to that movie. :D

but not like the actual songs, no, by releasing foot long vinyls of remixes by like Caribou and FlyLo. that's like totally wicked amazing, it's like, "yeah our songs weren't quite good enough for the radio, so we thought we'd get hip new artists to make them sound hip and new" WOW, This band! THIS BAND!!